


A Jedi in the Cell

by jacarandas



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Blindfolds, Falling In Love, Gen, M/M, Pre-Slash, The Author Regrets Everything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 09:47:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29872815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacarandas/pseuds/jacarandas
Summary: There is a Jedi in their cell.“A fucking political mess,” Bo-Katan mutters, and for once Din agrees.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker
Comments: 45
Kudos: 400





	A Jedi in the Cell

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in a universe where the Republic never fell but Anakin did. Also bit changes here and there.

There is a Jedi in their cell.

“A fucking political mess,” Bo-Katan mutters, and for once Din agrees. It’s a fucking mess. The political situation is tenser than ever, and they have a Jedi in custody. 

“We should execute him.” Paz insists. “As an example. A Jedi shouldn’t cross Mandalorian territory.”

“No.” Din says flatly. “That might start a war. Our planet cannot afford another one.”

“Well, we can’t just let him go. Nor can we keep him in a cell forever.” 

Din knows this. It’s been one day since they found the Jedi, hours since he gained consciousness, and they have been arguing on this matter to no avail. All the while the clock is ticking. 

“I will go talk to him.” Din says. He is tired, he misses his son, but he will do what has to be done. In all honesty, he is also a bit intrigued. He heard rumors of the witch-sorcerers and mind readers that were the Jedi. This will be the first time he actually sees one.

“Don’t look into its eyes.” Cara smirks, bringing up the old legend. You make eye contact with the witch, you become enchanted to its spell. Din snorts. He doesn’t quite believe in all the myths surrounding the mysterious Jedi; hell, his son might have the same powers. 

“He will be blindfolded anyway.” He says. “As are all enemies.”

-

The cell that contains the Jedi is an ancient one, back from the ages when Mandalorians and Jedi constantly clashed with each other. The Jedi is sitting still in the middle, blindfolded and bound in special binders that cuts the connection to its powers (or so he is told). He is smaller than expected, his skin almost grey in its paleness and his hair dry and wilted like a dying flower. Despite it, he carries an air of collected calm with him. He tilts his head when Din comes in.

They stare at each other in silence; although, Din is the only one who does the staring and the Jedi is just facing him with covered eyes. Finally, the Jedi speaks.

“Are you the Mand’alor?”

Din considers ignoring him, but sees no harm in answering. “Yes.”

“You feel important.” The Jedi muses. As if sensing the suspicion crawling off on Din – can he still use his powers? – he adds, “It’s not the Force. I’m just good at reading the air.”

“The Force,” Din repeats incredulously. 

“Yes.” The Jedi says, and sighs a little. “I can’t feel it. It’s completely cut off from me. Must be the force binder. It’s… very strange. I never experienced anything like this.”

Din stares hard at the man for a moment, then, wanting to be on point, asks abruptly. 

“What were you doing in Mandalorian territory?”

“Oh, that.” The Jedi winces. “I am truly sorry. I was chasing down people who stole a… family heirloom from me, and I got carried away. They deliberately led me to your space, I believe. You must be in a terrible position.”

Terrible position. That was one way to say it. Kill the Jedi, piss off the Republic. Let the Jedi go, piss off the Extremists. Either way, a likely war. Din feels a strong headache.

At least the Jedi looks ashamed. “Again, I am deeply sorry. If you allow me, I will contact the Republic and explain the situation, so they don’t make rash decisions. We can negotiate to find a middle ground that involves no violence. I will do everything I can to stop them from attacking your planet.”

And Din studies him, the Jedi, the sincereness of his voice, chapped lips, tilted head and firm shoulders. He finds himself trusting his words. Is this what they do? He wonders briefly. Make you want to believe in them and use that to their will? 

“You will still be a prisoner,” Din says gruffly. But the implication is there.

The tension in the Jedi bleeds out. “Thank you.” He says quietly, a small smile gracing his lips. Din realizes he’s staring again. He leaves without saying anything.

-

The negotiation surprisingly starts off okay, then drags into a standstill. The Mandalorians ask for a price that even the Extremists begrudgingly agree to, and the Senators of the Republic all have different ideas about it. They are arguing amongst themselves. All the while the Jedi stays in their cell.

“It’s Luke.” The Jedi tells them the second time he visits. He’d just finished recording a voice message to the Senate and his Order. “Luke Skywalker.”

Din doesn’t recognize the name, but Bo-Katan does. “Skywalker?” She says. “That explains the stupidity then.”

Funnily enough the Jedi hums a sound of agreement. “It does.” He pauses and asks, “You knew my father?” 

“It is not your place to ask questions.” Bo-Katan replies coldly. 

“Alright. I’m sorry.” He says, holding out his hand. “Just one more thing. Do I get to take off the blindfold?”

“No.” Din cuts in before Bo-Katan spits out some insult. “The uninvited are to be blind. And you were not invited.”

“I see.” The Jedi murmurs. His hands are twitching. “It just feels so… off, not able to see _and_ feel. But I understand.” 

Din doesn’t know why his heart pangs a little at those words. He ignores it. 

After that, he really means to leave the Jedi in his cell until the negotiation is done. There is no reason to see him. And he does, for the next few days. But then his son starts having trouble sleeping. 

The first time, Din thinks it’s just a nightmare. The child wakes him up in the middle of the night with a shrill scream that almost stops his heart, and when he rushes to the crib the child is shaking and crying, reaching out for his father. He cradles the child in his arms and whispers I’m here, I’m here, while his sobbing turns into hiccups, and they fall asleep like that. It’s heartbreaking, but It’d happened before. The child went through so much.

But it continues every night afterwards. Each time, the scream comes earlier and louder, until the child is afraid to fall asleep. He strains to keep his eyes open at night and dozes off at daytime, grey bags heavy under his huge eyes. Din can’t sleep either, as he tries to coax the child to sleep and watches him frightfully as he begins his screaming. It’s very worrying.

The Healer he requested looks grim when she sees the child. “I think this comes from the power he has.” She says. “A disturbance in his mind. It is possible that the powers are showing him visions.” 

“How do I stop it?” Din looks at the child tuck unto his arms. He looks exhausted. And he’s still so young. Too young to deal with this.

“I’m afraid I don’t know the answer, Mand’alor.” The Healer sighs. “I know very little of his powers, as do you. But I know that you have someone who does.” 

Din’s gaze hardens. “I am not taking the child to the Jedi. It’s too dangerous.” 

“I’m not saying you should.” She says gently. “But ask him if he knows similar symptoms. What his people do in these situations.” 

And when he sees the child blinking his eyes to stay awake, he nods.

-

The Jedi is staring blankly at the wall when Din enters the cell. At the sound of footsteps, he tilts his head toward him and greets,

“Mand’alor.”

Din pauses. “How did you know?”

The Jedi shrugs. “Like I said, you feel important.”

Huh. Saving that for later inspection, Din studies the Jedi. Up close, He looks thinner and paler than he did few days ago, and although he is wearing his usual calm expression, Din is strangely reminded of the child’s recent exhaustion. Din frowns, “I told them to feed you well.”

“Hm? Oh, they do. The food is nice, actually.” 

“Is the bed uncomfortable?” Din asks him, feeling something – concern? – stir inside him. It feels hypocritical for him to ask, but the cell itself is not terrible. It’s similar to the sleeping quarters he frequented when he was a bounty hunter, and the bed is a standard one that many Mandalorian households use. 

“It’s alright.” The Jedi waves his bounded hand. “I’m not used to this, that’s all. But you did not come here to talk about my health. Is something wrong?”

Din frowns some more but the Jedi seem to be waiting for him, so he slowly speaks. “I have a child under my care. He has... powers like you, he can lift things without touching it. But he has been having nightmares for a while, and the Healer thinks it has something to do with his powers.” 

“Like visions?” The Jedi looks thoughtful. 

“The Healer says so, yes.” Din answers, and tries to sound not too hopeful when he asks, “Do you know how to stop it?”

“Visions are difficult things, Mand’alor.” The Jedi says carefully. “Every vision is different. They may show the past, present, future or even a false reality. It is the will of the Force that shows them to us. Often they are meant to lead us into actions, whether the consequence is desirable or not. They cannot be simply shut down.”

Din’s heart sinks. He thinks of the child’s screaming, his sobbing, his tiny fingers reaching out to him, and feels helpless. “So there is nothing you can do?”

The Jedi shakes his head. “I did not say that. It might help to find out what the vision is and provide a solution. If that is impossible, the child must learn to accept that it is merely a vision, not real; then let it go.”

The Jedi stares at him, and even though he is blindfolded, his covered eyes are directly facing Din’s through the helmet. Din realizes what he’s trying to say. _Let me help._ And Din finds himself wanting to trust his words again. But this time, fear for his child is stronger.

“No.” Din says.

The Jedi sighs. “Think about it. I’ll always be here.”

-

That night, half the castle stays awake from the screaming. The child nearly collapses from dehydration.

He orders the Jedi to be taken out of his cell. 

The Jedi is brought to one of the meeting rooms. Paz, Cara and Bo-Katan are there. The guards stand tightly besides him, still bounded and blind. But it is different to see him under daylight, where his skin catches sunlight. Din is not distracted by it. 

The child is in his arms, fidgeting and clearly exhausted. He looks at the Jedi with a frowning face. “Bwa,” he says, points a finger at the Jedi and looks at Din. 

“He is a Jedi, Grogu.” Din murmurs. The child’s frown deepens.

“I think my voidness in the Force confuses him.” The Jedi speaks up. All face turns toward him; he’s tilting his head like he’s listening to everything in the room. “Everything is alive in the Force. I’ll feel like a blank space.” He shakes his binders, as if to remind them.

Din looks at the binders for a moment, and slowly nods to Paz. Paz takes out a pare of keys. Before he unlocks the binders, Paz tucks his gun against the Jedi’s chin and says,

“One wrong step, Jedi, and you are dead.”

The Jedi nods. The binders are unlocked.

The Jedi gasps. 

It is a fascinating thing to see. He staggers, as if hit, but all of a sudden, the Jedi becomes much more _alive_. Color returns to his pale skin, and it’s not so greyish anymore; his hair that seemed so strawy and bland now blooms into sweet gold. It’s like seeing a wilting flower coming back to life, and it’s breathtaking. He seems so…. Bright, and everyone in the room can see that it was dimmed before. Dimmed by the isolation. Din suddenly wonders what his eye colors are.

“This,” The Jedi breathlessly says, “This is new. Didn’t think it was going to be this overwhelming.”

“Must be,” Cara mutters somewhere behind him. Din agrees.

Making effort to take his eyes off the Jedi, Din looks down at his arms and notices that the child has gone still, all fidgeting gone. He is staring at the Jedi with wide, wondrous eyes.

“Patoo,” He coos softly. The Jedi turns his head towards him and smiles.

“There you are, little one.” And he sounds so joyous that Din is staring dumbly again. “I am so glad to meet you. May I touch him?”

Din steps in so the Jedi can touch the child without having to pass him over. In the corner of his visor he sees the guards tensing, but he somehow knows it will be fine. The Jedi won’t hurt the child.

The Jedi’s hand hover in the air before it lands gently on the child’s brow. Something unseeable passes between them, and Din knows they are speaking in their minds. A crease forms on the Jedi forehead, and the child stares up at him in concentration. 

It takes several minutes for the Jedi to speak. “He has gone through so much.” He sighs. His voice is grim, with a hint of sadness. “But that is not what his visions are about. He is having visions of what might come, and it frightens him.”

“You mean he sees the future?”

“He sees what the future _might_ be,” The Jedi corrects gently. “In his visions, a man comes to take him away from you, and he does horrible things to him.” 

Din stares at him. He feels fear and anger surging like fiends, and he clenches the child tightly around his arms. “Who.”

“I think you know him. He’s dark skinned and has greying hair.”

He hears Paz swearing and Cara spitting out curse words. Din hisses, 

“ _Gideon_.”

The Jedi nods and continues, “The visions don’t always come true. It can be a warning too. I believe that if you catch this Gideon, the nightmare will stop. But I would like…” he pauses to pick out his words carefully. “I would like to train him while I am here. My stay will not be long, so I’ll only teach him the basics of meditation. Then he’ll can take it better next time if something similar happens.” 

The Jedi is nervous. The tension is back on his shoulders again, and Din sees his fingers twitching. Din considers this. He knows his people are disapproving. Can already hear their protests. But he looks at the Jedi, and his son who’s looking at the Jedi in something like awe, and simply says,

“Yes.”

The smile he gets in return is like the sun.

-

They send out a hunt for Gideon. The Senators of the Republic now seem to have agreed on the price but are now arguing on how it should be paid. The Jedi… is in their cell. But he’s out in daytime to teach the child, under heavy supervision yet unbind. He returns to the cell at night, wearing the binders.

It is a strange thing they have going on, Din knows. But the child’s sleeping improves magnificently after his first encounter with the Jedi, and after a few days of training, the child sleep through the night without waking up. Din almost cries in relief.

“He’s very strong,” The Jedi says one day after training. The child is taking a nap in Din’s lap. “Very bright too.”

“He is.” Din agrees, even though he knows the word ‘bright’ the Jedi uses is in a different context.

“And he loves you very much.” The Jedi muses, and though he genuinely looks happy for him, Din hears the sadness in his voice. Din holds the child more tightly.

“Does he tell you?”

“Oh, he shows me.” The Jedi chuckles. “And I feel it too. The bond he has with you. It’s so,” He sucks his breath. “so warm.”

Din doesn’t have anything to say to that. He carefully touches the child’s head and quietly says, “Thank you, Jedi.”

The Jedi’s head tips a little. “For what?”

“For helping the child. I should’ve said it sooner.”

“I’m glad I could. He was suffering. And really, call me Luke.”

And Din has a strong urge to unclothe the blindfold to see the Jedi’s eye, and tell him his name, to hear the Jedi’s gentle voice pronouncing the simple syllable. But he can’t. So instead he slowly tastes his name on his tongue.

“Luke.”

Luke’s ears are a bit red. They stay in comfortable silence.

-

It was late in the evening when Din went to Luke’s cell. It is strange to see him like this, bound and still in his place. It was how they met, but Din has gotten used to how he was in daylight, inside the palace, so vivid and moving. He seems much bleached here, and Din feels guilt at that thought when really, he shouldn’t. The Jedi are enemies, and this is how things are supposed to be. But Luke greets him with a smile. 

“Your sister contacted.” Din tells him.

“Ah.”

“She was not happy with your Senate.”

“Yes, she tends to be. I guess her mission in the Unknown Regions ended earlier than it was supposed to. I had hoped she wouldn’t notice my absence until this was over.”

She definitely noticed. While she was perfectly polite in her message, there was icy anger towards her own – the Republic – in the lines between. She had basically said, _sorry for this idiocy, I will boss them around to end this._ And well, Din thought it was impressive.

“May I ask you something?” Din asks him. It was something that had been bothering him for a while.

“Hmm?”

“I thought the Jedi don’t have families.”

Luke makes a humming sound that says oh, I know this question. “Well, we don’t, usually. The Order itself is our family. But me and my sister, we were a special case.”

Din waits for him to continue. Luke seems a little hesitant, but he continues to speak.

“You see, my father was a Jedi too. But he fell from our ways,” Luke swallows. “And he killed many of our own while doing so. Me and Leia, my sister, were kept a secret so he couldn’t find us. Eventually the remaining Order caught him, but until then, we were raised in regular households. And we are twins, so we have a strong connection.”

Silence passes between them, and Luke seems anxious. At last Din softly says, “I’m sorry.” Luke turns his head away.

“I didn’t get to meet him. My father, I mean. I was five when he was executed. And I know he was a terrible person, but sometimes I wonder,” Luke breathes. “What he would’ve been like. But I have Leia, so I am grateful.”

Luke looks so wistful when he says that that Din wants to comfort him. Touch him. But he has an idea when he asks him,

“Was the family heirloom his? The one you were chasing.”

“Yes.” Luke says, and he seems a little surprised Din remembers. “A japor snippet he carved for my mother. The Masters forbid me from chasing it. Attachment reasons. And look where it got me.” Luke lets out a hollow laugh.

Din takes Luke’s hand. He calls him quietly. “Luke.” Luke shudders.

“I don’t know why I am telling you all of this.” Luke sighs. “It’s not exactly a secret but…” 

“I won’t tell anyone.” Din promises.

“I know.” Luke answers.

-  
“I think we can take the blindfolds off,” Din says one day after. Luke is sitting in a meditation pose besides the child, and he and Cara and Paz are watching them. 

“I knew it,“ Cara snorts. “You’ve grown soft on him.”

“He is training my child, and he has earned the trust.”

“Yet he is a prisoner in a cell,” Paz points out. “He is a Jedi.”

At Din’s stubborn silence, they glance at each other. 

“He is leaving soon anyway, Mand’alor.” Cara murmurs. “The negotiations are at its end. Don’t get too attached to him.”

Din stares at Luke. He imagines his eyes beneath the blindfolds. What color and shape will they be? What stories and emotions will they tell? And suddenly Din understands. The old tales of bewitchment. Make eye contact with the witch, and you are enchanted. You can’t leave them. You are bound to them. Even without seeing his eyes, Din knows. If he looks into Luke’s eyes, he will be spellbound. 

_But aren't you already?_

A voice whispers in his head. He ignores it.

-  
But like all things, life breaks his expectations.

Gideon comes like a thief in the night. And when Din storms into Luke’s cell in the middle of the night, fear and desperation choking him, Luke seems to understand immediately. He stands up.

“Take me to him,” he says, voice steeled and determined. And he is the calm faced Jedi again.

When he is unbound, Luke locates the child. “Northwest,” he says. 

And when they arrive on site, facing Dark troopers filling the valley, Luke looks at him directly. “Take my blindfolds off. And I need my saber.”

Din doesn’t hesitate. But his hands tremble when he cuts the blindfolds. 

And.

The clothes fall off.  
Luke’s eyes blink in slight daze, taking in sight after being blind for so long. They are blue.

Din’s mind, full of fear and anger and horror for his child, halts to a stop.

They’re so blue.

“I’ll bring your child back,” Luke promises, eyes as sincere as his voice, boring into Din, into his soul. Luke ignites his saber, and green light hums the night air. He leaps into the valley.

While Luke slaughters the Dark troopers in terrible power and grace, Din stares dumbly at his small figure holding the green light. He can hear other Mandalorians sucking their breath in awe and terror. But Din is frozen. Only when the child is returned to his arms, he is able to tear his eyes away.

-

Luke doesn’t wear his blindfold again. The protests be damned.

“It is different to see with my eyes.” He muses. “Learning to see again what I thought I saw before.”

Luke and Din are sitting in the new room Luke is staying at. It’s not the cell. The child sits between them, babbling happily. Luke smiles at him.

“I was afraid the experience would darken him, but he is strong. Remarkable child.”

Din just nods. Luke clears his throat.

“So, the negotiations are over?”

“Yes, you can leave tomorrow.”

“Hmm.”

They sit in silence until Din tells him,

“I have something for you.”

He slowly takes Luke’s palm, and places the gift on it. Luke’s eyes widen when he sees what it is.

“How-?”

It’s the japor snippet. Din says quietly,

“It’s nothing compared to what you’ve done for us. For me.”

Luke is close to tears, blue eyes furiously blinking them back, but he manages to break away and smile at him. A smile that can turn Hoth into an ocean planet.

“Thank you, Mand’alor.”

“It’s Din.” He says, finally, a weight he long waited to be gone lifting from his chest. The name is awkward on his lips but he says it anyway. “Din Djarin.”

Luke studies him for a careful second, then places his lips on the helmet lightly. He looks at Din, who just stares at him, and tenderly whispers,

“Thank you, Din.” 

-

Luke leaves the next day. Before he goes, he turns to Din and asks him,

“If I crash again, will I be in prison?"

Din shakes his head. “No,” He says. “You will always be welcomed.” He’ll see to that.

“Okay.” Luke grins. “Then we’ll meet again."

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not proud with what I wrote, but this held on me for days so, better post it and forget it. Thank you so much for reading it till the end.


End file.
